Broadcom Beefs Up its WICED Platform for Wearable Tech

Broadcom has a new Bluetooth-equipped System-on-a-Chip (SoC) for wearables and Internet-of-Things products, powered by nothing more than a watch battery.

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Broadcom this week introduced a new Bluetooth-equipped System-on-a-Chip (SoC) as an addition to its WICED family of products for wearable technology, which ranges from smartwatches and eyewear to clothing equipped with ultra-low power communications chips.

The new BCM20736 WICED Smart chip has a tiny ARM Cortex M3 application processor, with the CM3 microcontroller unit integrated with radio frequency (RF) circuitry and Broadcom's Embedded Bluetooth Smart Stack in a single chip.

The whole package is tiny, with just a 6.5-by-6.5mm footprint, and can be powered by a single-mode coin cell from a 1.2v supply, or in other words, a watch battery. The BCM20736 WICED Smart chip also supports two serial peripheral interfaces, can receive secure over-the-air updates, and supports A4WP wireless charging and enhanced data security modes, according to Broadcom.

In addition to wearables, the chip maker said it is positioning its WICED platform, short for Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices, for the growing Internet-of-Things (IoT) market.

"Broadcom's WICED platform is gaining significant traction with key Internet-of-Things innovators like Electric Imp. In addition to embedded Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Smart technology is also growing at a rapid rate and quickly becoming the core of many small, battery-operated wearable devices," Brian Bedrosian, senior director of Broadcom's Embedded Wireless and Wireless Connectivity unit, said in a statement.

"We are committed to pushing the boundaries on what wearables are capable of with our new WICED Smart chip," he continued. "By offering support for wireless charging and reduced power consumption, we are empowering OEMs to design more effective products for more market segments, fueling the next generation of wearables and sensors."

Broadcom's new BCM20736 WICED Smart chip is currently shipping to partners, the company said. The chip is pin-compatible with Broadcom's other Bluetooth Smart SoCs, and the company is providing prospective customers with evaluation boards and software support for the platform, including APIs and a software development kit.

The wearable computing device market is poised to explode from 50 million units shipped this year to 540 million by 2018, according to ABI Research. "Bluetooth Smart will be a key enabler for ensuring the link between devices that are constantly 'on' and the optimum battery performance is held," said ABI Research analyst Joshua Flood.

It's been a busy few months for Broadcom in the wearable tech and IoT arenas. In August, the chip maker announced the integration of WiFi Direct with its WICED platform. Since then, CEO Scott McGregor has been talking up the potential of not just high-profile, highly complex products like Google Glass, but also the opportunities available for developing simple, inexpensive, purpose-built products that use one or more connectivity technologies.

Damon Poeter got his start in journalism working for the English-language daily newspaper The Nation in Bangkok, Thailand. He covered everything from local news to sports and entertainment before settling on technology in the mid-2000s. Prior to joining PCMag, Damon worked at CRN and the Gilroy Dispatch. He has also written for the San Francisco Chronicle and Japan Times, among other newspapers and periodicals.
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